Baked Coconut Shrimp with Curried Apricot Sauce

One of our grocery stores recently had a special on un-shelled shrimp, and I jumped at the chance. We're trying to eat less meat, more "vegetarian" and seafood dishes, so this was an excellent opportunity.

I'll just cut to the chase, this was amazing. The dip, the shrimp. If you are in to sweet and tangy flavors, then this is the dish for you.

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Curried Apricot Sauce
from BHG

• 24 fresh or frozen jumbo shrimp in shells
• 1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 3 tablespoons apricot preserves
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1-1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 egg whites, slightly beaten

Directions

1. Thaw shrimp, if frozen (check bag for directions...generally, run it under cold water for a few minutes because even slightly warm water might cook the shrimp). Peel and devein (if not already), but leave the tails intact. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.

2. Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl (mayonnaise, apricot preserves, and curry powder). Cover and place in fridge until ready to serve.

3. Spread the oil on the bottom of a 15x10x1-inch baking pan (I used a cookie sheet with an edge around it); set pan aside. In a large shallow dish combine coconut, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. In another small shallow dish place the egg whites. Dip shrimp into the egg whites; coat shrimp with coconut mixture by pressing the mixture firmly onto each shrimp. Place shrimp in prepared pan/cookie sheet. Bake in a 400 degree F oven about 10 minutes or until shrimp are opaque and coconut is golden, turning once. Serve with the yummy sauce.

Sare's notes

1. I opted to use mayo, and it was perfect. The sauce is actually more yellow in real life, and it was very tasty with the sweetness of the coconut.

2. I didn't have unsweetened coconut on hand, I just omited the sugar from the coconut mixture since it was already sweetened.

3. Coating the shrimp was slightly an ordeal, but that is just me. I am not good at "coating" things. If you try this dish, please let me know. We loved it. We served it with orzo, but it would go very well with a special rice dish.